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Stoke City midfielder meets aspiring poets at primary school

Welsh international checks out children's poems and plays word games with pupils

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by Matt Jackson

17:59, 28 Sep 2017Updated18:00, 28 Sep 2017

Stoke City star Joe Allen meets children at Maple Court Academy

Potters star Joe Allen swapped volleys for verbs after heading to a city school to give his backing to youngsters entering a writing competition.

The Wales international midfielder visited Bentilee’s Maple Court Academy where pupils are looking to score with their entries into the Premier League Writing Stars scheme.

The nationwide contest aims to get children aged between five and 11 writing poems, songs, raps, or haikus with the winners getting their work published in a limited-edition book.

Joe, who signed for Stoke City last year, was presented with poems written by pupils at Maple Court – and faced them in fast-thinking word games.

The 27-year-old, who is fluent in Welsh, said: “It’s really important for the club to get out into the community and I really enjoy it, especially with the younger kids in primary schools because they always get so excited.”

Maple Court Academy pupils read their poems to Joe Allen.

Sam Cooper, assistant principal at Maple Court praised the Premier League side for linking in with local schools. She said: “We worked with Stoke City last year on the Premier League Primary Stars programme and the children absolutely loved it.

“The club was fantastic and ran an attendance-based project, which had a massive impact in school. The fact the children get to meet a professional footballer is a massive positive for them – he was so cool turning up to the school in a Porsche!”

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Youngsters entering the competition are being asked to pen a poem based around the theme of resilience. Entries will be judged by former England international Frank Lampard, the children’s laureate Lauren Child, Everton winger Yannick Bolasie, and young person’s laureate Caleb Femi.

The initiative isn’t the first time Maple Court has linked in with the Potters. In 2016, members of staff flew to South Africa to visit Talfalah Primary School to teach the pupils about life abroad.

Sam added: “We visited South Africa last year with the Stoke City Community Trust and delivered food parcels to an informal settlement.

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“We took a lot of photos and then shared them with the pupils so they learnt what it is like to catch a long-haul flight. We then did a lot of projects about it when we got back.”

Pupil Kieran Clowes had been keen to meet Joe. The eight-year-old said: “It was really exciting getting to meet Joe Allen. I’m a massive Stoke City supporter and it was good to get to meet him in real life.

“I like writing at school because it gives us a chance to learn more. If you write something down you can remember it easier.”